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PHOTO AND COVER PHOTO BY SSAVANNAH LAUREN
Blues, gospel and Southern soul unite within the voice of Betty Fox, the St. Petersburg-raised singer and five-time winner of Creative Loafing magazine’s “Best of the Bay” award. The most recent evidence is the new CD by her self-titled band, Peace in Pieces. Recorded at the aptly-named FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama, a facility that’s hosted a who’s-who list of roots music clients and will soon celebrate its 60th anniversary, the disc shines from the opening notes of its uplifting opening track and new single, “Green Light.” “Sometimes it still feels unbelievable that my dream came true,” Fox says. “The music that has come from this place has been a constant source of inspiration to me in my growth as a musician. FAME provided a moving, sonic landscape for us, and we felt honored to have the opportunity to record artistically where so much musical history has been made.” Along with guitarist Josh Nelms, bassist Barry Williams and drummer Jake Winebrenner, Fox holds CD release parties for Peace in Pieces on October 4 at the Palladium Theater in St. Petersburg, October 18 at The Alley in Sanford, and November 9 at the Dunedin Wines the Blues Festival — all well before the album is released via music retailers and streaming services on January 10, 2020. Fox started forming her hybrid vocal style, which also includes occasional disparate elements of funk and country music, early on. Her first performance on stage, in a church play at age four, was inspired by a musical family that specialized in vocal harmonies during holiday gatherings. “My uncle Fred would pound on the keys with his monster hands,” she says, “while my family and I 2
would all gather around the piano. My grandmother would stand behind me and my cousins would hold my hands as we all sang four and five-part harmonies to songs like ‘It Is Well With My Soul,’ ‘The Old Rugged Cross,’ and ‘Till the Storm Passes By.’” The latter Christian hymn is reenacted at the end of Peace in Pieces, and features a powerfully breathy, resonant vocal performance by Fox. After recruiting some of the best musicians in the Tampa Bay area to form the Betty Fox Band in 2012, the young vocalist recorded her critically-acclaimed debut album, Too Far Gone, and its 2015 follow-up, Slow Burn. American Blues Scene magazine wrote that “Fox’s singing is a cross between Beth Hart and Etta James, with a touch of Marion James thrown in;” Blues Revue magazine wrote, “Like a bluesy Christina Aguilera, Fox takes us on a delightful vocal journey.” Subsequent career highlights include being finalists in the International Blues Challenge in 2015; performing at high-profile Florida events like the Tampa Bay Blues Festival, Daytona Blues Festival, Panama City Blues Festival, and Clearwater Sea Blues Festival, and opening shows for the likes of Mavis Staples, Robben Ford, Robert Randolph, Marcia Ball, The Lee Boys, Ana Popovich, Lucky Peterson, and The Nighthawks.
INDING PEACE On Peace in Pieces, Fox’s development as a composer rises even more to the fore than on her previous releases. “Green Light” defies the high-wire degree of difficulty of blending soul and country elements; the title track is a double-time R&B rave-up that would also sound at home in the hands of Janis Joplin or Susan Tedeschi, and the impassioned, 6/8-timed slow blues of the autobiographical “Sweet Goodnight” unearths new depths within the young songwriter. “My father died young from Lou Gherig’s disease,” Fox says. “He passed away quickly after his diagnosis with this horrible disease. ‘Sweet Goodnight’ was written with the help of my stepmother at their home in the mountains of North Carolina. Sometimes music is the only way we have of connecting with the deepest feelings of mourning and loss. Sharing this process with my stepmother was healing for us both.” Peace in Pieces echoes elements from throughout FAME’s storied history — Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Otis Redding, Etta James, Jerry Reed, Solomon Burke, Duane Allman, Gregg Allman, the Rolling Stones, Joe Tex, Clarence Carter, Joe Cocker, Delbert McClinton, Elvin Bishop, Betty LaVette, and the Dixie Chicks — and may prove to be the release that adds another name to that famed roster. More at bettyfox.net. by Bill Meredith
CD RELEASE PARTIES OCTOBER 4 PALLADIUM THEATER ST PETERSBURG OCTOBER 18 THE ALLEY SANFORD NOVEMBER 9 DUNEDIN WINES THE BLUES FEST DUNEDIN PLUS OCTOBER 9 & 23 HIDEAWAY CAFE SAINT PETERSBURG OCTOBER 13 THE ALE & THE WITCH SAINT PETERSBURG
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BK Jackson Saxophonist Bernard “BK” Jackson has been electrifying audiences across the globe with his OCTOBER 18 unique playing style, CLEARWATER JAZZ energetic stage presence HOLIDAY and unparalleled passion COACHMAN PARK for music that touches CLEARWATER the soul. A Tampa native, Jackson has crossed musical paths with industry giants such as B.B. King, Brian McKnight, Bruno Mars, Chaka Khan, and the Zac Brown Band. Most notably, Jackson spent three years touring domestically and abroad with musical icon Prince as a member of his 11-piece horn section, the New Power Generation (NPG) Hornz. The gig began while Jackson was still a 20-year-old sophomore at Florida A&M University. Currently, Jackson can be found rocking the stage as a member of New Orleans front man Trombone Shorty’s touring band, Orleans Avenue. The group brings their classic New Orleans brass band sound, perfectly mixed with sonic rock, jazz and hip-hop influences, to audiences around the world. In addition to headlining their own sold-out shows, the group has also opened for powerhouses such as The Foo Fighters, Lenny Kravitz, and the Red Hot Chili Peppers. After just a few weeks on the charts, Jackson’s single “Paradise” from his debut album Life Of The Party finished 2018 as a Smooth Jazz Network Top 100 for 2018 at the #96 spot. The single, and its followup “Velvet Ropes” both debuted at No. 2 on Billboard Smooth Jazz Most Added chart. Blending the high energy and sonic movements of pop with the syncopated and intriguing intervals of jazz, Jackson’s got new music in the works. More at bkjackson.com. OCTOBER 17 SUNRISE THEATER FORT PIERCE
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Paul DesLauriers Band Having worked together on various projects for nearly 20 years, guitarist/singer Paul DesLauriers, drummer Sam Harrisson and bassist Alec McElcheran have become bound by friendship and an unshakable mutual respect. Based on this history and an uncanny musical chemistry, in 2013 they decided to focus all their energy and talents to develop their distinctive power trio. Their self-titled 2014 debut OCTOBER 18 reached the top spot on the iTunes Canada Blues Chart within a month. Their 2016 FUNKY BISCUIT CD Relentless featured 10 original new songs and was released to international critiBOCA RATON cal acclaim, climbing to the No. 2 position on the Roots Music Report radio chart in OCTOBER 19 Canada and to No. 10 in the U.S. Crowned Electric Act of the Year and two-time EnCORAL HEAD tertainer of the Year at Maple Blues Awards, in 2016 they also took second place out BLUES FES of 119 bands at the 32nd International Blues Challenge. These Montreal-based, CaMARATHON nadian blues veterans blend rock with straight-ahead blues in a way that echoes the OCTOBER 20 vibe of the great power trios from the ’60s and ’70s, while modernizing the music EARL’S without resorting to clichés. The aural texture of HIDEAWAY their music changes on a dime from guitar-drivSEBASTIAN en pyrotechnic blazing to a much milder blues boogie with seamless ease. And it’s all peppered with pleasing funky bass lines and a swamp-blues backbeat. Their powerful new release Bounce includes 13 new songs with 12 originals including “Picked a Bad Day” a collaboration recorded in Florida, and a cover of Anthony ‘Duster’ Bennett’s “Jumpin’ at Shadows.” More at pauldeslauriersband.com. OCTOBER 17 DOUBLE ROADS TAVERN JUPITER
FROM A PHOTO BY SCOTT DOUBT
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Jonathan Scales
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One of the most innovative steel pannists on the planet, Scales is redefining and challenging traditional expectations of the instrument. While his songs OCTOBER 24 are accessible and danceable, the compositions can be complex and difficult to CAFE DA VINCI perform. As a result, his power trio Jonathan Scales Fourchestra boasts a fluid DELAND lineup of top-notch musicians, touring the North American and European OCTOBER 25 club and festival circuit along with dates in Japan, Central America and the GUANABANAS Caribbean. Scales also represented the U.S. through the Department of State as a JUPITER musical ambassador in a four-week concert tour of China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Indonesia in 2017. Scales’ sixth and latest release Pillar introduces his new, OCTOBER 26 full-time rhythm section, bassist E’Lon JD and drummer Maison Guidry, who THE ALE & THE WITCH ST PETERSBURG hold their own against an imposing cast of special guests. While powerfully influenced by Béla Fleck’s transformative approach OCTOBER 27 to the banjo, Scales was already independently rethinking how DUNEDIN BREWERY steel pans could be played and employed in compositions. He DUNEDIN independently released three albums, then the Jonathan Scales Fourchestra’s fully-orchestrated eponymous debut reached No. 6 on the iTunes Jazz charts in 2013. Fleck himself, in considering Scales’ cover of his composition “The Imposter,” remarked “To say I am impressed would be a gross understatement.” In 2016 Scales was invited to perform with Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. Since then, Jonathan developed a close bond with Victor Wooten, and has appeared many times at Wooten’s annual Bass Camp. Bringing the relationship full circle, Béla Fleck performs on the Pillar song “Focus Poem.” More at jonscales.com.
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Dany Franchi Born in 1990 in Genoa, Italy, Dany Franchi is widely considered one of the best blues musicians OCTOBER 11 on the scene today. After SOUTH STREET graduating in 2008 with a CITY OVEN degree in music gained in NAPLES Milan, he won the Blues OCTOBER 16-17 for Youth Award in his PARADISE BAR homeland. He launched & GRILL his career with his 2012 PENSACOLA self-released debut Free Feeling. Along with a OCTOBER 19 CAMPING WITH relocation to the U.S. two THE BLUES years later, Franchi released BROOKSVILLE I Believe, produced by IBC winner Sean Carney. In OCTOBER 19 early 2016, Franchi and his BARREL ROOM backing band reached the FORT MYERS IBC semi-finals, helping bring him to the attention of Texas blues icon Anson Funderburgh, who produced Franchi’s third album, 2018’s Problem Child. With 10 originals out of 13 tracks, the CD reached No. 4 on the Billboard Blues Chart. Of Franchi, Funderburgh says, “Dany is one of my favorite young blues artists. He has an exciting fresh approach to the music while keeping it honest.” Franchi cites influences including Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, Jimmie and Stevie Ray Vaughan, Albert King and B.B. King, and enjoys a variety of musical genres from traditional blues to ’60s soul, R&B, pop and rock. He has shared the stage with Funderburgh, Ronnie Earl, and Kim Wilson and The Fabulous Thunderbirds, among others. He has also been performing at prestigious blues festivals all over the world. More at danyfranchi.com. OCTOBER 8 BLUE ROOSTER SARASOTA
FROM A PHOTO BY KAREN ACHTEN
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Jamil Sharif Influenced strongly by his father, the late world-renowned trumpeter Emery Humphrey Thompson (Umar Sharif), Jamil Sharif began playing music at the age of 14. His attendance at the heralded New Orleans Center for Creative Arts (Wynton Marsalis, Harry Connick Jr., Terence Blanchard) helped launch an amazing career. He was a featured soloist with the Louisiana Philharmonic Orchestra, appeared on Aaron Neville’s Christmas Special and Reading Rainbow with LeVar Burton, and served as musical director for the play Salty Dog and the musical Bourbon Street Revue. Movie appearances include Hard Target with JeanClaude Van Damme, Undercover Blues with Kathleen Turner and Dennis Quaid, The Home Front with Tatum O’Neal and Sonny directed by Nicholas Cage, where Sharif’s “Vee Vee” from his 2000 release Jamillenium was featured in the film. “Crescent City Strut” from Sharif’s 1993 album Portraits of New Orleans was used for the USA TV series The Big Easy. He served as musical coordinator for the movie Ray, a biopic of Ray Charles, among other big and small screen projects. Sharif is the President of Umdah Music, which has released three critically-acclaimed albums to date: Portraits of New Orleans featuring Dr. John, Jamillennium, and Shine featuring vocalist Midori Takamura. Along with his three CDs as a leader, Sharif has played and recorded a variety of styles – jazz, blues, R&B, swing, reggae, gospel, funk, pop, Latin, big band, country, folk, and classical – as a sideman and at performances at top venues and festivals around the country and the world. More at jamil sharif.com.
OCTOBER 11 AMELIA ISLAND JAZZ FESTIVAL AMELIA ISLAND
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Joyann Parker
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FROM A PHOTO BY GRINKIE PHOTOGRAPHY
After singing in church most of her life, Joyann Parker finally saw the light (neon) and embraced the blues. A classically trained pianist with a degree OCTOBER 13 in music from the University of Wisconsin, Parker sang in church and with CAPITOL OYSTER BAR a wedding band, until blues/soul music ‘discovered’ her. The door to blues MONTGOMERY, AL and soul music opened almost accidentally. After singing Aretha Franklin’s OCTOBER 14 soul classic, “Chain of Fools,” at a contest, Parker was invited to join a blues DOS MAMAS band. She consequently educated herself by going to blues jams, and never GAINESVILLE looked back. The following year, Joyann Parker & Sweet Tea represented the Minnesota Blues Society at the International Blues Challenge. That experience OCTOBER 18 inspired her to write the songs that appear on 2018’s Hard To Love. The project LITTLE BAR GOODLAND offers ample evidence of the singer’s new-found blues power. Parker co-wrote and co-produced the album’s 13 songs with Mark Lamoine, who OCTOBER 19 is the guitarist in the band. Selections include the inspirational, CAMPING WITH gospel-linked “Home,” the Memphis soul-style “Envy” and THE BLUES Motown-based “Dizzy.” Hard to Love was Roots Music Report’s BROOKSVILLE No. 1 Soul Blues Album and No. 15 Top Blues Albums for 2018. OCTOBER 20 Parker is a nominee for the 2018 Blues Blast Music Awards’ ARTS GARGE prestigious Sean Costello Rising Star Award. She is passionDELRAY BEACH ate about turning people on to the blues, and recently she and Lamoine launched a new show, The Music of Patsy Cline, an artist who Parker views as a kindred spirit: “Patsy said, ‘Hoss, if you can’t do it with feeling -- don’t.’ That’s how I feel.” More at joyannparker.com.
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S P O T L I G H T OCTOBER 24 SW FLORIDA EVENTS CENTER BONITA SPRINGS
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Squirrel Nut Zippers
Formed in 1993 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, the Squirrel Nut Zippers play a unique fusion of Delta blues, gypsy jazz, 1930s–era swing, klezmer, and other styles. Influenced by Johnny Ace, Cab Calloway, Django Reinhardt, Raymond Scott, Fats Waller, and Tom Waits, the band is credited for contributing to the 1990s swing revival. “Nut Zippers” is a southern term for a variety of old bootleg OCTOBER 26 moonshine. The band’s name comes from a newspaper story about an intoxicatPROHIBITION ed man who climbed a tree and refused to come down even after police arrived. KITCHEN The Zippers’ 1995 debut The Inevitable received NPR airplay, but its followup, ST. AUGUSTINE 1996’s Hot, was certified platinum, based on the strength of their calypso-flavored breakthrough single “Hell.” The band toured with Neil Young in support of the album, which was followed by Perennial Favorites, Christmas Caravan and Bedlam Ballroom. They performed at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, at President Clinton’s second inaugural ball, on late-night television programs and the radio show Prairie Home Companion. Sporadic tours and recordings took place over the next couple of decades, including the 2009 live album Lost at Sea. Renewed interest at the approach of the 20th Anniversary of Hot led co-founder James Mathus to assemble a revival band, focusing on musicians in the New Orleans area. They began touring in mid-2016, and released Beasts of Burgundy in 2018 via their own label Southern Broadcasting, followed by two Christmas singles. More at snzippers.com. OCTOBER 25 THE ATTIC TAMPA
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Groove Thangs Groove Thangs never set out to become a legendary band. After an eight year whirlwind career of pioneering OCTOBER 27 the South Florida EARL’S HIDEAWAY music scene with their SEBASTIAN special mix of funk, soul and blues, touring the nation, headlining festivals, getting signed to Epic Records, being produced by Tom Dowd and putting out six award-winning releases on their own label, the group’s leaders Bonefish Johnny and Down Pat (brothers John and Patrick Stacey) dissolved the band as an ongoing concern in 1993 in order to follow different paths. Lead singer Pat moved out of state and spent the next decades fronting rock outfits, jazz experiments and wedding bands, while guitarist-singer-songwriter Bonefish stayed in Florida and continued making eclectic sounds with bands like Shack Daddys and his Funky Roots Revue. Most notable alumni of the band is sax player Jeff Watkins, who ended up playing with the Godfather of Soul James Brown for his last dozen years and now anchors popular touring act the New Orleans Suspects. Despite the changes, demand for Groove Thangs never waned, and the members felt obliged to reunite for fans old and new, staging reunion concerts semi-annually since 1994. “We’ve been getting the band back together for longer than the band was ever together in the first place,” Johnny jokes. Thirty five years on, Groove Thangs’ original music, always ahead of its time, sounds fresher than ever. More at groovethangs.com. OCTOBER 24, 25, 26 BOSTON’S ON THE BEACH DELRAY BEACH
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Bruce Katz
Five-time nominee for the Blues Music Award’s Pinetop Perkins Piano Player of the Year honor, Bruce Katz has toured and recorded OCTOBER 18 with Ronnie Earl, Delbert CAMPING WITH McClinton Band, Jaimoe’s THE BLUES Jasssz Band and John HamBROOKSVILLE mond, among many others, OCTOBER 19 and he was a member of the BUCKINGHAM Gregg Allman Band from BLUES BAR 2007-2013. Equally comfortFORT MYERS able playing Hammond B-3 Organ and piano, Katz makes music that occupies a unique space where blues, soul-jazz, jam-band rock, and Americana collide into a style of original music all his own. After attending Berklee in the mid-1970s, Katz spent the next 15 years performing, including long stretches on the road. He then earned a Master’s degree in Jazz Performance from the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston, and launched the Bruce Katz Band. During a nearly five-year stint with Ronnie Earl’s band The Broadcasters, Katz and performed on six albums, writing and co- writing many of the tunes. Grateful Heart won the Downbeat Critics Poll for Best Blues Album of 1996. Just before the release of Katz’s third solo CD, Mississippi Moan in 1997, he left the Broadcasters to focus on his solo career, touring with the likes of Duke Robillard, Hammond and Allman. Katz’s 2008 CD Live! At the Firefly and 2014’s Homecoming both placed respectably on many radio charts. Get your Groove! was released in 2018 and boasts ten original tunes and one classic blues cover, “Hesitation Blues.” Katz also released his first solo piano album Solo Ride, featuring 11 original compositions, earlier this year. More at brucekatz band.com. OCTOBER 16 ENGLEWOODS ON DEARBORN ENGLEWOOD
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Kate Davis
NOVEMBER 2 SOUTH MIAMI DADE CULTURAL ARTS CENTER CUTLER BAY
The music of multiinstrumentalist and singer Kate Davis has been turning heads in New York’s music scene since 2012. Whether she’s crooning rootsy ballads or plucking bright riffs from her bass, the gutsy songstress puts a fresh spin on the standards and brings a canonical sensibility to her own lush tracks. Lauded by MTV as one of 2014’s “15 Fresh Females Who Will Rule Pop,” Davis’ smart, warm pop is as musically nuanced as it is addictive. Vivid, nostalgic melodies materialize out of Davis’ musical arrangements, her songbird voice complimented by a rich rock ‘n’ roll bass-line. Alternating between achingly soulful and flippantly funny, her songwriting combines ranging sonic textures with an anecdotal knack. Her lyrics are novel and rhapsodic, cutting through the clichés and trivia of pop parlance to deliver something honest and truly perceptive. She’s performed at such illustrious venues as The Kennedy Center, The Bowery Ballroom, Lincoln Center, and Carnegie Hall—as well as pretty much every noteworthy club in NYC. Davis became a New York transplant in 2009, when she enrolled at Manhattan School of Music. Since, she’s had the opportunity to collaborate with many of NYC’s finest musicians and artists. Her triumphant debut album, Trophy, due out November 8, blends precise pop melodies with raw, emotive lyrics, and a sonic edge. Throughout twelve tumultuous tracks, she poetically reflects on topics close to her heart, such as identity, self-worth and loss. More at katedavis music. com.
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Mick Kolassa “Michissippi Mick” Kolassa is a lifelong musician who is on the Board of Directors of the Blues Foundation, a non-profit organization dedicated to preserving blues music history, celebrating recording and performance excellence, supporting blues education and ensuring the future of this uniquely American art form. Proceeds from Kolassa’s albums support two Foundation programs: The HART Fund (for blues musicians and their families in financial need due to a broad range of health concerns) and Generation Blues (providing scholarships for young artists to study at reputable camps, seminars and workshops. With his Taylor Made Blues Band, Kolassa unites with three talented and respected blues artists: David Dunavent on lead guitar and backing vocals, John Allouise on bass and vocals and Joe Eagle on drums. The quartet delivers a combination of Kolassa’s originals, cherished blues classics and some surprising blues “uncovers” of songs not traditionally thought of as blues. Kolassa’s vocals easily adapt from a croon to a growl to fit each song. Following 2014 ‘s Michissippi Mick, which received critical acclaim and significant airplay, Kolassa and producer Jeff Jensen reteamed for Ghosts of the Riverside with Mark Telasca. Three more albums with Telasca followed, including the 2017 acoustic blues Beatles tribute, You Can’t Do That. His 2018 release, Double Standards, features duets of 13 blues favorites, performed with the likes of Jensen, Victor OCTOBER 20 CAMPING WITH THE BLUES BROOKSVILLE
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FROM A PHOTO DONNA CRISWELL
Wainwright, Annika Chambers, Tas Cru, Gracie Curran and Sugaray Rayford. More at mimsmick.com.
S P O T L I G H T
Tony Holiday
b l u e s OCTOBER 18 CAMPING WITH THE BLUES BROOKSVILLE
After playing guitar and fronting the Salt Lake City-based Tony Holiday and the Velvetones, he switched to harmonica and recruited Landon Stone as guitarist. The band was named 2016’s Best Blues Band at the Salt Lake City Weekly Music Awards. Now based in out of Memphis, the Tony Holiday Band plays up to 200 shows a year and have shared the stage with a host of greats. Recognized by peers such as Charlie Musselwhite, Holiday included him among many others on his latest release, Tony Holiday’s Porch Sessions. Released earlier this year, Porch Sessions documents the cross-country trip taken by Holiday and Stone to record and play with famous blues musicians on their front porches. Aside from Musselwhite, the CD also features tracks with John Primer, Kid Ramos, John Nemeth, Kid Andersen, Rockin’ Johnny Burgin, and more. The immediacy and joy brought on by the simple enjoyment of playing is infectious. Holiday’s old-school style harkens back to when the blues first found their way into the new electric age. His soulful passion and vocal strength blend with a wicked sense of humor, fearlessly toeing the line between traditional blues/soul and modern-day Americana with poetic compositions touching on timeless issues like love, heartache and tales from the road. A combination of family man and a road dog, Holiday finds balance in his life as well as his music.He has been named in the Top 10 young harmonica players in the country by Rick Estrin and Blues Harmonica Player Forum. More at tonyholidaymusic.com.
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Russ Spiegel A commissioned composer/ arranger, guitarist, bandleader, writer, producer, and actor Russ Spiegel studied Composition, Arranging and Guitar Performance at the Berklee College of Music in Boston on a scholarship, and went on to get his Masters degree in Jazz Performance at the City College of New York, under the aegis of world-renowned bassist, composer and educator John Pattitucci. He then earned a doctorate in Jazz Composition from at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami in 2016. Originally from Santa Monica, California, Spiegel relocated to Europe with his family as a teen, spending close to 20 years in Germany where, after his studies, he concentrated on a career as a jazz musician. Russ returned to the U.S. in 2001, settling in New York City where his work as a musician has continued to flourish. Alongside composing and arranging, Spiegel stays busy with a variety of projects. Playing everything from solo jazz guitar to running The Russ Spiegel Jazz Orchestra – a 17-piece big band featuring his own compositions and arrangements – Russ has released several CDs, written music for film, TV and musicals, toured Europe and Asia, taught college-level courses, run workshops and seminars, worked as a music copyist for Broadway shows and major-label recordings, and appeared in a number of feature films and television shows as both a musician and actor. Now living in Miami, Russ is an Adjunct Professor at Miami Arts Charter School and plays around town with his Russ Speigel Organ Group. More at russguitar.com.
OCTOBER 9 THE FISH HOUSE MIAMI
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Arthur Hanlon
From a musical perspective, Arthur Hanlon is our gringo in Havana. Born in Detroit, Hanlon grew up playing Motown, classical music and blues before earning a master’s degree from the prestigious Manhattan School of Music. But the young musician responded to a different calling — that of the Cuban Son, danzon, boleros and other Latin rhythms. A master pianist, composer and arranger, Hanlon brings to his music a distinctive blend of Detroit street, classical virtuosity and Latin beats. His latest tour, aptly titled “Un Gringo En La Habana,” was inspired by “Como Suena el Piano” (Listen to the Piano), which Hanlon recorded with Cuban hip hop trio Orishas after a late night descarga (jam session). The final product — released in August 2019 along with a video filmed in Havana — is an explosive fusion of blues, tumbao, Cuban Son and piano virtuosity. During their first jam, Orishas frontman Yotuel Romero declared: “I know the guy’s American but listen to that piano.” Others too have been listening to Hanlon’s piano. He is widely regarded as the most successful Latin instrumentalist of his generation, becoming the only pianist to hit No. 1 on the Billboard Latin music charts, and the only pianist to hit Billboard’s Latin Airplay charts in over a decade. He has recorded with a wide range of Latin top artists, among them Arturo Sandoval, Cheo Feliciano and Ozuna. Ticket information at browardcenter.org. More at arthurhanlon.com.
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